September 26, 2010

Ronald Volker retains Japanese National title

Ronald Voker retains Japanese National title

The JMRCA Japanese electric touring car nationals took place this weekend at the Ichirino RC Plaza to the East of Tokyo. Weather was mixed over the course of the event and after 7 rounds of qualifying in the Super Expert class it was 1/12th scale World Champion Naoto Matsukura that took the TQ spot ahead of reigning Japanese and European Champion Ronald Volker in 2nd, with Takehiro Yamauchi in 3rd. In the finals, it was Volker who surged through to the front to take the win in both leg 1 and 2 to retain his Japanese title, with fellow Yokomo driver Daisuke Yoshioka taking 2nd place and young Xray driver Takayuki Inoue coming through from 7th spot on the grid to take 3rd overall. In the Open class it was a win from pole position for Akio Sobue, winning for the first 2 legs of the 3 leg finals to win the title with one leg left. Masayuki Kawata took 2nd spot ahead of Satoru Takagi in 3rd.

Click here for the open class podium


September 26, 2010

Belgian Nats win for Stockman & Vekemans in Rd7

Belgian Nats win for Stockman & Vekemans in Rd7

The 7th round of the Belgian electric touring car nationals was in Roeselare last weekend at the very fast RCR track. Qualifying was hit with rain and the first two rounds took place in wet conditions, with the 3rd round run in dry conditions and this would be important for the grid position. In the EFRA class it was Olivier Bultynck who took the pole in front of Thomas Stockman and Nick Joosens, Rico Claeys and Nicolas Delise. Leg 1 saw Olivier Bultynck out after only 2 laps, and so it was Stockman that tool the win ahead of Nick and Rico. No problems for Olivier in leg 2 and he went on to win from Nick in 2nd and would set up the 3rd leg as the decider. In leg 3 the Olivier took off in the lead followed by Nick Joosens but the pair touched on lap 9 leaving Stockman through to the lead where he would win and take the overall in front of Nick Joosens in 2nd and Rico Claeys in 3rd. In the Superstock class it was another dominant performance by Geoffrey Vekemans who won from the pole position once more finishing in front of Pasquinel Neys in 2nd and Werner Broeckx in 3rd place. The Stock class was taken by Michel Mahieu, with Michel Robijn 2nd and Christophe Couckhuyt 3rd.

View the other class podiums here


September 25, 2010

Kostas Zacharopoulos wins Greek Championship

Kostas Zacharopoulos wins Greek Championship

The Greek 1/10th A Championship took place last weekend at the FRT track in Athens in warm temperatures. Qualifying went the way of Shepherd driver Kostas Sidiropoulos, with Bill Lykaris in 2nd and John Sotiropoulos in 3rd. Following a call for 10 minutes prior to the final for Kostas Zacharopoulos, the race got underway with the front running drivers maintaining their position. Following some collisions in the pitlane for Sidiropoulos and Sotiropoulos and a penalty for the second placed driver, it was Mugen driver Kostas Zacharopoulos who made it to the front at about the 10th minute. A recovering Sidiropoulos was only 5 seconds behind at this stage and closing, the pair coming together later on and Sidiropoulos received a stop and go. After this he encountered brake problems and dropped to 3rd at the end, with Sotiropoulos coming up to take 2nd at the flag. But it was Kostas Zacharopoulos who would take the win by 15 seconds despite a flame out at the 35th minute in the pit lane, and be crowned Greek Champion.

Source: RC Hobby Athens [rchobbyathens.com]


September 25, 2010

Kyle Branson dominates Rd8 of British 1/8th Nats

Kyle Branson dominates Rd8 of British 1/8th Nats

The 8th round of the BRCA 1/8th scale Nationals was a second visit to the Brooklands circuit in Kent. With all the main players present, it would become a very competitive race weekend. Team Serpent had again Mark Green and winner from the previous round Kyle Branson present to help the team in their quest for the championship. Team Shepherd also had Neil Diver present to help team leaders Pete and Andy Hastings. The Irish racers were again present to increase the competition. The Mugen Team still awaiting the release of the MRX5 chassis had to contend with the MRX4X which they have used all season. The Motonica team of Daniel Bancroft, who has been constantly quick all season, was running the new BP (BH935) racing engine which showed promising speed for a relatively new engine unit.

Continue reading the report here


September 24, 2010

Kimbrow wins Mugen Seiki Sedan Nitro Challenge Cup

Kimbrow wins Mugen Seiki Sedan Nitro Challenge Cup

The 4th Annual Mugen Seiki Sedan Nitro Challenge Cup held at SpeedWorld Raceway in Roseville California saw Serpent driver Scott Kimbrow take TQ from Mugen racer Mike Swauger. Swauger and Kimbrow battled all weekend for the TQ honors with Swauger on top until the 4th round and the pair were the only drivers on 20 lap. In the last round of qualifying Swauger was on for another big TQ until his steering servo got problems. Kimbrow capitalized and took the top spot and at this stage, the A main was shaping up to be a battle between Kimbrow and Swauger. The pole man took off at the start and proceeded to pull away from Swauger by 2 seconds, but 3 minutes in Swauger lost another steering servo and Kimbrow went on to dominate the race with Steve Perez taking home 2nd and Marco Acosta taking 3rd.

Source: SpeedWorld [speedworldraceway.com]


September 23, 2010

Johnny LoGiudice wins 2wd at JConcepts NE Champs

Jhonny Lugidace wins 2wd at JConcepts NE Champs

The JConcepts Northeast Champs attracted 160 eager racers to one of the best Indoor tracks in the Northeast, RC Excitement and with teams from Kyosho, X-Factory, Associated, Losi and TQ, there was no shortage of talent in the building. With the 2wd A-Main field hosting of road legend Brian Kinwald and Associated Hotshoe Steve Hartson, the stage was set. An epic battle began with Losi factory racer James Schlick leading the pack with Steve, Brian and Johnny LoGiudice in tow. James led for more than half of the race when a late bobble allowed Steve, Brian and Johnny through. On the last lap Steve and Brian got together allowing TQ Racing driver Johnny to slip by for the win. The race was so close that the three drivers had to wait until the finishing order was announced.

Source: TQ Racing [tqracing.net]


September 22, 2010

Sterian Folev wins Bulgarian Off-road Nats Rd3

Sterian Folev wins Bulgarian Off-road Nats Rd3

The third round of the Bulgarian Off-road Nationals took place near Sofia, in the village of Bankya in perfect weather. The track presented to drivers was rough, hard to handle and including some very high jumps. In the Buggy class the top qualifier was Mario Vutov followed by Petar Gergov, Emil Karamfilov, Sterian Folev and Dimitar Leskovski completing the top 5. The 45-minute-long final proved that a race is won with endurance and not just with speed. Mario Vutov was the fastest guy on the track but unfortunately had battery issues and lost about 10 minutes. Emil Karamfilov also wasn’t able to finish due to a throttle servo failure. The battle for first place was between Sterian Folev and Petar Gergov, both showing very good pace throughout the final. Georgi Minkov took advantage of Gergov’s slight battery issue at the end of the event and finished second. After the victory for Sterian Folev, who is having a very successful debut year, the fight for the title is now forming. Dimitur Leskovski and Georgi Minkov both have 126 points with Sterian Folev running close behind with 124. Petar Gergov is with 118. The next race is in Varna in 2 weeks where we see the national champion crowned for 2010.


September 21, 2010

Root & Schreffler win at JBRL Electric Rd7

Root & Schreffler win at JBRL Electric Rd7

The Jimmy Babcock Racing League (JBRL) headed to Pegasus Hobbies in Monte Clair for Round 7 of the 2010 Electric Series. Pegasus had prepared a fun layout and the weather was fantastic, setting up a great day of racing for the 150+ entrants. Team Losi Racing drivers Frank Root, Aaron Lane, Matt Schreffler, Doug “Casper” Nielsen, Keith Whisler, and Michael Guzman were all in attendance. Only a few miles from the Losi facility, this was sort of a home race for the team.

Continue reading the report here